Intense fire damages Allied Waste storage building in Niagara Falls

NIAGARA FALLS – A building that was used to store filter press plates was heavily damaged just before 10 p.m. Tuesday at Allied Waste at 5600 Niagara Falls Boulevard.

Niagara Falls Fire Investigator Gerald Aderhold said city firefighters found the building engulfed in flames when they arrived.

The building in the industrial complex hadn’t been used in a while, according to Aderhold, but it had been used to store about 100 filter press plates, which are made of fiberglass and a plastic resin.

“It burned hot enough to melt the steel girders and everything that was holding the building up,” said Aderhold.

He said two walls and about a quarter of the roof collapsed. Firefighters took about three hours to get the fire under control.

Fire Chief Thomas Colangelo said crews had to be cautious due to the intensity of the fire.

“It was not a total loss, but about a quarter of the building came down,” Aderhold said of the 100- by 50-foot storage building.

He said the amount of loss and cause of the fire remains under investigation.